Auxiliary pad for bowling wrist guard

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an auxiliary pad for a bowling guard wherein surfaces of hand-back and wrist cushion members are formed with a Velcro tape. To the Velcro tape are detachably attached hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads, each of which having a predetermined thickness so as to adjust a bent angle of a wrist and first and second Velcro tapes formed on one surfaces thereof. The other surfaces of the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads consist of third and fourth Velcro tapes so as to stack and attach another auxiliary pad, so that it is possible to easily adjust the bent angle of the wrist as the thickness of the another auxiliary pad stacked and attached. As a result, it is possible to double a rotary force of a bowling ball and to implement diverse ball-control.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an auxiliary pad for a bowling wrist guard, and more particularly to an auxiliary pad detachably attached to a bowling wrist guard and having improved air permeability.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In general, a bowler wears a bowling wrist guard so as to prevent an injury of a wrist or finger which may occur due to a weight of a bowling ball and to correctly throw the bowling ball according to the bowler's throwing characteristics during bowling.

The bowling wrist guard is mainly made of a metal. Accordingly, when a bowler directly wears the metal wrist guard on the wrist, the feeling is poor. In addition, since the bowling wrist guard is not in perfectly close contact with a bowler's wrist or back of the hand, the wrist guard moves when the bowler throws the bowling ball, so that it is impossible to correctly throw the bowling ball.

An auxiliary pad for a bowling wrist guard for solving the problem is disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 320, 301.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a bowling wrist guard capable of adjusting an angle according to the prior art, and FIG. 2 shows that the auxiliary pad as disclosed in the Korean Patent is attached to an inside of the bowling wrist guard.

Referring to FIG. 1, the bowling wrist guard capable of adjusting an angle 100 comprises a guard member 120 closely contacting and protecting the back of the hand (hereinafter, referred to as ‘hand-back’), a wrist guard member 140 closely contacting the exterior of a wrist, and a connection member 130 connecting the hand-back guard member 120 and the wrist guard member 140 and adjusting a left-and-right or up-and-down connection angle of the hand-back guard member 120 and the wrist guard member 140.

The hand-back guard member 120 and the wrist guard member 140 comprise a hand-back cushion element 125 and a wrist cushion element 145 therein, respectively. Auxiliary pads 150, 170 are respectively attached to the hand-back cushion element 125 and the wrist cushion element 145.

FIG. 2 shows that the hand-back auxiliary pad 150 and the wrist auxiliary pad 170 are respectively attached to the hand-back cushion element 125 and the wrist cushion element 145. Although it is not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, hook-and-loop type fasteners are applied to inner surfaces of the hand-back cushion element 125 and the wrist cushion element 145 and to corresponding sides of the hand-back auxiliary pad 150 and the wrist auxiliary pad 170. Accordingly, a bowler attaches the auxiliary pads 150, 170 having a proper thickness to the hand-back cushion element 125 and the wrist cushion element 145 to improve the feeling with the hand-back and the wrist. The bowler may further attach an additional auxiliary pad 160 to the hand-back cushion element 125 as necessary depending on the connection angle of the hand-back guard member 120, thereby improving the feeling.

However, the auxiliary pad is shaped into a plate form having a uniform thickness. Accordingly, as the hand profiles of bowler's differ from each other, a bowler's hand-back and wrist part may not perfectly and closely contact the auxiliary pad, so that the bowler cannot consistently throw the bowling ball and wrist guard feeling is poor.

In addition, the auxiliary pad has poor air permeability. Accordingly, when the bowler wears the bowling wrist guard having the auxiliary pads attached thereto for a long time and sweats, the feeling of the auxiliary pad is deteriorated on account of the sweat. In severe cases, an odor can sometimes be produced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems. An object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary pad for a bowling wrist guard closely contacting a bowler's hand-back or wrist to allow the bowler to consistently throw a bowling ball and having improved air permeability for improved feeling and comfort.

In order to achieve the above object, there is provided an auxiliary pad for a bowling wrist guard comprising an auxiliary pad detachably attached to a cushion element that is attached to an inside of the bowling wrist guard, wherein the auxiliary pad comprises a first layer contacting a bowler's hand-back or wrist, a second layer having elasticity, and a third layer having air permeability.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the bowling wrist guard may comprise a hand-back guard member and a wrist guard member having a hand-back cushion element and a wrist cushion element attached to insides thereof, respectively. The auxiliary pad may comprise a hand-back auxiliary pad and a wrist auxiliary pad detachably attached to the hand-back and wrist cushion elements, respectively.

Further, according to an embodiment of the invention, hook-and-loop fastener tapes may be attached to inner surfaces of the hand-back and to wrist cushion elements and upper surfaces of the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads, respectively, so that the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads can be detachably attached to the hand-back and wrist cushion elements.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the first layer may be made of a material having excellent perspiration absorption ability. The second layer may be made of an active carbon polyurethane sponge having excellent ventilation ability and may include a natural perfume ingredient so that a fragrance is generated when a bowler wears the guard. The third layer may be made of an air mesh having excellent air permeability.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the hand-back auxiliary pad may have a profile bent in the width and longitudinal directions thereof and be made such that a periphery thereof is thicker than a center part thereof, corresponding to a shape of a hand in throwing a bowling ball. Accordingly, the bowler's hand-back can be in close contact with the hand-back guard member.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the hand-back auxiliary pad may be replaced by detaching and attaching it to the hand-back cushion element.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the invention, the wrist auxiliary pad may have a profile bent in a width direction thereof and be made such that a side part thereof is thicker than a center part thereof. Accordingly, it is possible to keep the bowler's wrist fixed to the wrist guard member while throwing the bowling ball. The wrist auxiliary pad may be replaced by detaching and attaching it to the wrist cushion element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view showing a bowling wrist guard capable of adjusting an angle according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a view showing how auxiliary pads of the prior art are attached to a bowling wrist guard;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a hand-back auxiliary pad according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a hand-back auxiliary pad according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a hand-back auxiliary pad according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI′ of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a wrist auxiliary pad according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a front view of a wrist auxiliary pad according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;and

FIG. 9 is a view showing how hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads according to a preferred embodiment of the invention are attached to a bowling wrist guard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when such description would make the subject matter of the present invention unclear.

Shapes and functions of hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads according to the invention will be first specifically described. The wearing by a bowler of a bowling wrist guard having the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads attached thereto will then be described.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a hand-back auxiliary pad 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The bowler's hand 11 which is present under a hand-back auxiliary pad 10 is shown with a phantom line.

Referring to FIG. 3, the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 is detachably attached to a hand-back cushion element 52 (refer to FIG. 9) that is attached to an inside of a bowling wrist guard 50 (refer to FIG. 9), thereby covering a bowler's hand-back.

The hand-back auxiliary pad 10 has a shape to correspond to the bowler's hand-back so that it can cover a bowler's hand 11. Specifically, the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 is made to have a size and a shape capable of covering the bowler's hand-back. In particular, at a location corresponding to the bowler's index and middle fingers, it is formed with an extension part 12 that is protrudingly extended by a predetermined length. The extension part 12 is protruded to cover the bowler's index and middle fingers up to the first knuckles thereof. Accordingly, when a bowler wears the bowling wrist guard 50, since the extension part 12 covers the bowler's index and middle fingers up to the first knuckles thereof, it supports the index and middle fingers in throwing a bowling ball so that the bowler can throw the bowling ball more easily.

The hand-back auxiliary pad 10 is detachably attached to the hand-back cushion element 52. Specifically, a hook-and-loop fastener, such as a Velcro tape 20 is attached to a center part of an upper surface of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 and a mating tape 53 (refer to FIG. 9) is attached to an inner surface of the hand-back cushion element 52 of the bowling wrist guard 50. The bowler fixes or separates the tape 20 of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 to or from the tape 53 of the hand-back cushion element 52, thereby detaching or attaching the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 to the hand-back cushion element 52 as required. The tape 20 is not attached to completely cover the upper surface of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10, but is provided on the center part only, thereby increasing an air permeability of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 which will be described later.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are front and side views of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 according to an embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 has a profile that is bent in the width and longitudinal directions thereof along the bowler's hand-back. Since the bowler's hand 11 takes a profile that is bent in width and longitudinal directions in throwing the bowling ball, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 closely contacts the bowler's hand-back along the corresponding bent profile.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 is made such that a periphery thereof is thicker than a center part thereof. Such shape corresponds to the shape of the bowler's hand-back made when the bowler grasps the bowling ball so as to throw the ball. In other words, when the bowler throws the bowling ball, the hand protrudes at a center thereof and takes a bent shape at the periphery. Accordingly, the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 interposed between the bowler's hand and the hand-back cushion element 52 for the bowling wrist guard 50 is profiled such that it has a thin center part and becomes thicker as the periphery is approached, thereby closely contacting the bowler's hand-back.

In addition, since the extension part 12 is a part for supporting fingers used for throwing, it is made to have a proper thickness suitable for the bowler's throwing habit. Preferably, the extension part 12 of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 is made to have a thickness corresponding to the space that would otherwise exist between the position of the fingers and the hand-back cushion element 52 when throwing the bowling ball. With the extension part 12, the bowler's finger is located and fixed at the extension part 12, so that the bowler can throw the bowling ball with a more stable posture.

Further, when the bowler wears the bowling wrist guard 50 having the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 attached thereto according to the invention, the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 covers the bowler's fingers and hand-back. Accordingly, the bowler can maintain the posture at the time when she or he throws the bowling ball, even though she or he does not apply a separate force. Thereby, muscular fatigue can be relieved and the bowler can consistently throw the bowling ball.

The shape of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 can be changed in accordance with the size of the bowler's hand or the form of the hand depending on the bowler's throwing form. Accordingly, the bowler can select and attach the most suitable hand-back auxiliary pad 10 to the bowling wrist guard 50 with regard to his or her throwing habits. If the bowler changes the throwing motion, the bowler can select the most suitable hand-back auxiliary pad for the changed motion and easily change the hand-back auxiliary pad 10.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along a line VI-VI′ in FIG. 3, which shows a section of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 according to an embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 comprises a first layer 14 contacting the bowler's hand-back, a second layer 16 having an elasticity, and a third layer 18 having an air permeability.

The first layer 14 directly contacting the bowler's hand-back is made of a material having an excellent perspiration absorption ability, for example Coolmax® fabric available from Dupont. Since the first layer 14 is made of a material having an excellent perspiration absorbtion ability, even though the bowler's hand is in a sweat, the first layer rapidly absorbs and discharges the sweat to the second layer 16. Accordingly, even when the bowler wears the bowling wrist guard 50 (refer to FIG. 9) for a long time and thus sweats, the first layer 14 always maintains an optimal state.

The second layer 16 having an elasticity is located between the first layer 14 and the third layer 18. Preferably, the second layer 16 is made of a material having an excellent ventilation ability, for example active carbon polyurethane filter sponge. The second layer 16 ventilates the sweat delivered by the first layer 14, thereby allowing the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 to maintain its optimal state.

In addition, since the sponge member has a proper elasticity, it covers and supports the bowler's hand-back or finger when the bowler wears the bowling wrist guard 50, thereby increasing the feel and relieving the fatigue of the hand-back or finger.

The sponge member constituting the second layer 16 generally serves to determine the thickness of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10. For example, the sponge member is made of a single layer at the center part of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 and multiple layers at the periphery thereof, so that the periphery is thicker than the center part. The hand-back auxiliary pad 10 having such thickness closely contacts the bowler's hand-back, as described above. Accordingly, in the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 of the invention, the thickness of the second layer 16 is changed to adjust the thickness of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a natural perfume may be added to the sponge member constituting the second layer 16. For example, the sponge layer constituting the second layer 16 is treated to include a phytoncide ingredient so that the bowler can smell the natural perfume when the bowler wears the bowling wrist guard 50.

The third layer 18 located on the top of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 is made of a material having an excellent air permeability, for example an air mesh. The air mesh is a structure similar to a so-called net structure, which is a material having improved air permeability by maximizing an air inflow from the exterior or an air outflow to the exterior. Accordingly, the third layer 18 allows the external air to easily pass through and thus helps the sweat in the second layer 16 to be evaporated more easily.

A hoop-and-loop tape 20 is attached to an upper part of the third layer 18, as described above. The tape 20 does not completely cover the third layer 18 so as to maintain the air permeability of the third layer 18, but is located at a certain region only, for example a center part of an upper surface of the hand-back auxiliary pad 10. In addition, the tape 20 can be formed with a plurality of ventilation holes 22.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a wrist auxiliary pad 30 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The wrist auxiliary pad 30 has the same internal structure as the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 except for the shape thereof. Hereinafter, it will be described on the basis of the shape of the wrist auxiliary pad 30.

Referring to FIG. 7, the wrist auxiliary pad 30 according to the invention is detachably attached to a wrist cushion element 54 (refer to FIG. 9) of the bowling wrist guard 50 to cover the bowler's wrist. As shown in FIG. 7, a hook-and-loop tape 32 is attached to an upper surface of the wrist auxiliary pad 30, so that the wrist auxiliary pad 30 can be detachably attached to the wrist cushion element 54.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing the wrist auxiliary pad 30 seen from the ‘A’ direction in FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 8, the wrist auxiliary pad 30 has a profile bent in a width direction thereof across the bowler's wrist. In addition, both sides are thicker than a center part thereof. With such a shape of the wrist auxiliary pad 30, the bowler's wrist is well and closely contacted by the bowling wrist guard 50, so that the bowler can stably move the wrist when throwing the ball. Although the figure shows that both pad sides are separate from the wrist, the wrist auxiliary pad 30 is closely contacted to the wrist by a fastening band 59 (refer to FIG. 9) of the bowling wrist guard 50 (refer to FIG. 9), which will be described later.

A procedure for wearing the bowling wrist guard 50 having the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads 10, 30 attached thereto according to a preferred embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 shows that the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads 10, 30 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention are attached to the bowling wrist guard 50 and are provided with specific reference to the bowler's hand.

Referring to FIG. 9, the bowler first selects the appropriate hand-back auxiliary pad 10 and the wrist auxiliary pad 30. In other words, among hand-back auxiliary pads having diverse thicknesses, the bowler selects the hand-back auxiliary pad 10 according to the bowler's throwing habits, and which covers the finger and wrist well and closely contacts them. In addition, the bowler selects the wrist auxiliary pad 30 having a thickness suitable for the bowler's wrist.

After selecting the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads 10, 30, the bowler attaches the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads 10, 30 to the bowling wrist guard 50. In this case, the bowler attaches the tapes 20, 32 provided on the upper surfaces of the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads 10, 30 and the complimentary tapes 53, 55 provided to the hand-back and wrist cushion element 52, 54 to each other, thereby fixing the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads 10, 30 to the bowling wrist guard 50.

After fixing the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads 10, 30 to the bowling wrist guard 50, the bowler fastens the bowling wrist guard 50 to the hand 11 using the fastening bands 57, 59 provided on both sides of the bowling wrist guard 50.

After fastening the bowling wrist guard 50 to the hand-back and the wrist, the bowler adjusts the bowling wrist guard 50 according to his or her throwing habits and then bowls.

As described above, according to the invention, when the bowler uses the bowling wrist guard having the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads of the invention, the bowler can consistently throw a bowling ball since the positions of the finger and the hand-back are fixed due to the hand-back auxiliary pad.

In addition, according to the invention, since the position of the fingers in throwing is supported by the extension part of the hand-back auxiliary pad, it is not necessary to continuously apply force to the fingers, so that the fatigue of finger muscles is relieved and playing performance is thus improved.

Additionally, according to the invention, the auxiliary pads are made of materials having an excellent perspiration absorption ability or air permeability, so that sweat is easily exhausted and evaporated. Accordingly, even when the bowler wears the bowling wrist guard for a long time, the feeling falloff and sweat odor are prevented.

Further, according to the invention, the bowler need only replace the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads for a new throwing form when the bowler changes his or her throwing motion; the entire bowling wrist guard need not be replaced. Accordingly, the bowling wrist guard of the invention is more economical than the prior art.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A bowling wrist guard with an auxiliary pad, wherein the auxiliary pad is detachably attached to a cushion element attached to an inside of the bowling wrist guard and has a side part thereof thicker than a center part thereof, wherein the auxiliary pad comprises a first layer contacting a bowler's hand-back or wrist, a second layer having an elasticity and a third layer having an air permeability.
 2. The bowling wrist guard according to claim 1, wherein the bowling wrist guard further comprises a hand-back guard member and a wrist guard member having a hand-back cushion element and a wrist cushion element, respectively attached to an inside thereof, and wherein the auxiliary pad comprises a hand-back auxiliary pad and a wrist auxiliary pad detachably attached to the hand-back and wrist cushion elements, respectively.
 3. The bowling wrist guard according to claim 2, wherein complementary releasable fastener tapes are attached to inner surfaces of the hand-back and wrist cushion elements and upper surfaces of the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads, respectively, so that the hand-back and wrist auxiliary pads are detachably attached to the hand-back and wrist cushion elements.
 4. The bowling wrist guard according to claim 2, wherein the first layer is made of a material having a high perspiration absorption ability.
 5. The bowling wrist guard according to claim 2, wherein the second layer is made of an active carbon polyurethane sponge having a high ventilation ability.
 6. The bowling wrist guard according to claim 5, wherein the second layer includes a natural perfume ingredient.
 7. The bowling wrist guard according to claim 2, wherein the third layer is made of an air mesh having a high air permeability.
 8. The bowling wrist guard according to claim 2, wherein the hand-back auxiliary pad has a profile bent in width and longitudinal directions thereof and with a periphery thereof thicker than a center part thereof, corresponding to a shape of a hand in throwing a bowling ball, whereby the bowler's hand-back is closely contacted by the hand-back guard member.
 9. The bowling wrist guard according to claim 8, wherein the hand-back auxiliary pad includes means for detaching and attaching it to the hand-back cushion element.
 10. The bowling wrist guard according to claim 2, wherein the wrist auxiliary pad has a profile bent in a width direction thereof and has a side part thereof thicker than a center part thereof, so that the bowler's wrist is fixed to the wrist guard member while throwing a bowling ball.
 11. The bowling wrist guard according to claim 10, wherein the wrist auxiliary pad includes means for detaching and attaching it to the wrist cushion element.
 12. (canceled) 